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Stories.

The girls and I made the short trek to my grandparents house this week. My Grandma and Papaw. I've frequented their house often, since I was a little girl. I've played in the hallways, bounded around corners, skipped and hopped outside. Many an adventure has been had at this house. When I think back to being at their house, not one single negative memory comes up. It's a real-life Narnia to me. And so, it is my greatest pleasure to take the girls there also.

There's my Papaw's shop, that holds things exactly as I remember them when I was little. I like that familiarity. The walls in this shop hold a story, they could tell many a detail of the people who have wafted in and out over the years. The Sara that used to be frightened to even look at a cow,

and now lives on a farm with whole herds of them.

My Grandma shared her knowledge of these succulents, which I find incredibly detailed and beautiful, and then potted some for me to take home. She said they'd been there since they moved in, over 30 years ago I believe. As with a lot of things in life, I think part of their beauty must come from how long they've been around. How many seasons they've endured. I'm drawn to things that are beautiful in a quiet, unassuming way. These succulents have such a strength for continuing to be bravely beautiful and intricate, whether noticed or not.

A lesson we could learn, no?

Some of my favorite story-tellers are hands.

And then, these.

Papaw had a few green bottles he found on their land and offered to let me have them. And then Grandma took his generosity a step further and offered to let me have a whole bag full of old bottles. I think they are just stunning. What secrets and stories do you think these hold?

This is what I want my little girls to know.

That people and their stories matter.

That God is the ultimate story-teller.

That our histories play into our future, but certainly don't dictate the path ahead.

That a gal frightened of animals can grow up to live on a farm.

That what was lost can be found,

beauty can be unearthed in even the dirtiest of vessels.

That light shining through the vessel of us makes a totally new kind of beauty.